


Plan A

by Danganphobia



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Comedy, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Lio Struggles With His Burnish Ability: The Fic, M/M, Strangers to Lovers, Trauma, or lovers back to strangers, this is still light hearted i promise, you'll see why - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-23
Updated: 2019-09-23
Packaged: 2020-10-26 13:28:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20742947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Danganphobia/pseuds/Danganphobia
Summary: Lio Fotia has spent most of his life learning how to cope with his powers, but he can't accept them but if he can't control them. So Plan A is to try to live in Promepolis as a normal civilian as he attempts to cater to the Burnish population and seek refuge for them, all while hiding his identity as a Burnish living a double life.However, all Lio does is a miserable job at doing so and Galo is a firefighter simply meaning to do his job wondering who's the cause of all the accidental fires at a particular district of the city. It's a task Lio decided might be a bad idea from the very start, but he is willing to give it a try.





	Plan A

**Author's Note:**

> Hi I wanted to give a try at writing a fic for these two, because after seeing the movie I just couldn't stop thinking about it and while brainstorming many ideas in my head, I came up with a bit of a canon rewrite/divergence of what if Lio didn't know how to control his powers yet and just took time... to learn about his Burnish powers, and tried to live normally but did a pretty shitty job at it and the concept would be hilarious (he's trying). And it was fun to experiment with within the canon timeline but of course, I tend to stray away and do my own thing, cause I gotta.

Lio's always been aware of his strange powers. But they were only exposed just a minimal amount. It's been that way since he was a child, then slowly, as he began to grow older -- it is almost as if his powers were growing stronger in a sense.   
  
The Burnish flames acted with primal instinct. With thirty years passing by since the eruption of Burnish incidents, which since then are coming to an abrupt halt -- it's more like Lio's powers would do more harm than good. As it was _meant _to. He learned to accept that this was more a gift rather than a curse, something that is part of him and he had to learn to cooperate with it if he were going to functionally live in society as a somewhat _decent _civilian in Promepolis, although _Burnish _then he was going to have to deal with this.   
  
The question is, he hasn't exactly got the _hang _of this. _It's_ like an entirely different entity or a force of energy living inside of him. It's almost like it does what it wants. _When _it wants to and whenever it wants to. It drives Lio crazy because he is the host of his own body, he should be able to control every single aspect from his limbs to his rationalized thoughts, but he couldn't control his fucking Burnish side of himself, and if that isn't shameful as it sounds, he doesn't know what is.  
  
There's just this primal urge to set things aflame, to feed off the flammability of whether it be an object, God forbid a _person _\-- no, unless said person were bringing intentional harm to him he would do so without mercy, _most certainly_, but considering charges for arson against another human being is not the _wisest_ choice. Which is why he went into hiding to begin with, if anyone had _known _his true identity it could go in many different directions. Probably none of them are good. So what was his plan? Being part of the organization sought out the Burnish in the community and provide them a placement where they are seen out of the public eye. Gueira and Meis were people Lio could consider he was fond of.   
  
The three of them worked together and it was the two of them who shed light on the situation at large, that Burnish were being taken in captivity forcing some to hide their powers of committing arson under the radar in order to live normally or live as a vagabond, never living anywhere permanently in Promepolis. Even with three decades passing by it only ensures law enforcement to step up with following their own example. Kray Foresight can shove a foot up his ass.   
  
Exterminating the Burnish for the sake of greed and malicious purpose was absolutely vile. However, Lio wasn't positive that just himself, Meis and Gueira, and the selective population of Burnish out there were willing to fight back against how many people were against them. He supposed he would have to wait. He would have to try to _live _this way with the steady income earned from this illegal Burnish catering business, and if things didn't work out then he would consider fleeing, perhaps plan _c_ is taking authoritative action. Lio isn't one for taking the passive-aggressive route, but here he was. Trying a hand at living normally. He can't do plan _c _without being affirmative that plan _a _of living under the radar works decently. He would need plan a to fail for plan b to commence, that's where plan c would follow suit.   
  
Telling the government to go fuck itself for dragging away innocent people who have nothing to do with protesting against wrongful convictions and corrupt laws.   
  
He assured Meis and Gueira that if his plan fails he would have back up. Since they had suggested that they could take over most of the busy work with monitoring the Burnish settlements, which isn't very much since the select few Burnish out there are still very isolated and are careful with who they choose to interact with. One wrong move and they'll be taken into captivity. This is why by choosing this decision Lio had to be _careful_. But _fuck_, his powers don't want to cooperate. He thought that over the years he would do better at challenging the energy coursing through him and can command when _not _to do things that would get him killed. Sadly the flames within him could care less. Because he's started miniature fires in the small apartment he lived in and they're increasing, instead of getting any less.   
  
It started with everything he held in his hands getting a little too hot for his liking. He had to let go of it with a string of profanity leaving his lips before he burned himself. _It _hated water and was propelled by it. The only thing that can neutralize the flames that sparked easily by just about anything flammable, so Lio took the advantage to try and tame the flames from his hands, call him crazy. Perhaps if someone else were to be here he would have looked insane trying to talk to a force of energy, a _force _\-- that is, a force living his body that it has a timeout and needs to behave.   
  
But it's fucking stubborn and doesn't listen. Meis and Gueira don't have this problem anymore. _You get used to it sometime soon. _They said. That was a fucking lie. He can't get used to it. At least _right now _and Lio's patience is thinning. He said that he would be able to handle this and control it every time they checked in and asked how he was doing, (it's like they already look up to him as a boss when he doesn't have complete control of their budding establishment) he feels some sort of guilt for lying and saying that they gave more important things to focus on and shouldn't worry about him. _I can control it. I can handle it. _  
  
_No. _His conscious told him, _you can't._  
  
Then it gets worse. Turning on the stove would ignite violent flames that Lio scrambled around the cramped kitchen to find a bowl to run water underneath and toss at the stove. When that didn't work, he would use a bucket and dump more water on the burning pan. _It _gets excited upon the sight of oil and Lio knows he's going to probably die of starvation if he can't make food without a fire starting because of it. Boiling water works fine if he used any sort of product he had to be careful to ensure it doesn't explode. He's already set too much furniture and other decor in his apartment on fire that he decided other than the necessary items he needs to live comfortably in this setting, he shouldn't add anything more he knew was going to burn to a crisp if he kept it.   
  
Besides, Lio isn't exactly planning on getting comfortable. He knows that plan b is likely to be inevitable at some point. If there's too much suspicion drawn he could move out without notice unsuspecting to other people in the complex like he has been doing -- until he found a suitable place to his liking and find somewhere else in a more secluded area of the city. He's aware with any heat on him he can't keep running forever. He's got a community on his shoulders to ensure that they are _safe _and will try to kill if he has to, to protect them, but he has to ensure his own safety as well.   
  
There's a suitcase always in the corner of his bedroom, he's alert to any visitors unless it's Meis and Gueira letting him know beforehand that they will be coming. He's wary of his neighbors, and has no interest in socializing with them unless they are only trying to be polite, he has to mirror their actions at casual conversation, which he was no problem doing so. Though the moment any of them drew suspicion he was a step closer to shoving his belongings completely inside and getting the fuck _out_ as soon as possible.   
  
He doesn't shut himself in. Neighbors suspect that he leaves to work and returns home, doesn't live with anyone else but himself. They don't really know much about what he does or who he is and he would like to keep it that way. To them, he's just Lio Fotia and nothing else.   
  
It didn't take very _long _for the short period of peacefulness to turn _awry_. There were complaints of somewhere in the complex smelling of smoke at strange hours of the night and Lio's powers are creating more chaos than tranquility than he would like. He had this inane idea of taking a go at cooking because he's running low on stock and _needs _to fuel his energy with something to digest and running on instant, microwavable food is not going to do any good. Give or take a matter of time before the device explodes too. He took a deep breath. _I need food to eat. But I can't if I'm not able to make it, so don't cause any trouble for me. _He thought to himself, but of course, he should have just dealt with instant ramen tonight because the pot burst into flames not even five minutes into making _soup. _  
  
"Fuck. For _fuck'_ s sake." Lio hissed, backing away and retracting his hand at the heat emitting from the surface. "Could you calm down? I said I wanted to cook something so you need to behave, cut it out!"   
  
He figured turning _off _the stove will stop the flames, if he could somehow manipulate the energy radiating off his hands or calm it down by shifting the pot but it doesn't work. "Stop it." He grits out. It ignored.   
  
"Do you need me to get the water?" _I'll get the water. Alright. _Lio fetched the dry bucket from the cabinet beneath the sink and began to fill it with water, only this time with his attempt the flames just get _angry _and bigger, and bigger, and the curtain is on _fire_.   
  
"Just put yourself out already! You're going to blow my cover!" He does sound insane. Lio knew it. Shouting at the flames, but what could he _do _to get _it_ to _listen_. Usually with two dumps of water on the stove completely drenching the entirety of his kitchen in the process would _work _but this time it's not, it just causes the flames to become immune to the tranquilizer and this method is proving ineffective, which isn't right. Lio should be able to control his powers _without _it but with the need to do this shows that he, in fact, couldn't.   
  
"If they find out that I'm a Burnish and I caused this fire I will be in very big trouble, do you hear me? You need to put yourself out." Lio pleaded. He tried to stay calm. Maintain a placid facial expression, and for a split second, the flames were relapsing, then the smoke detectors go off, and Lio's heart _leaped _in surprise and he thinks _why the fuck did I put that thing in there _and it seems that the bewildered energy he was giving off kickstarted his heart rate and the flames grew enormous as a reaction. As a way of saying back to him, _you did this yourself. _  
  
As if he deliberately knew getting scared would control his Burnish energy, once again, and he said this aloud with pure panic, "_Fuck_."   
  
His kitchen is on fire.  
  
The smoke rising from the stove is spreading throughout the area and Lio tried to reach for the smoke detector hanging on the high end of the wall just below the ceiling. He's reached a point where with the _smoke detector_ going off this isn't a simple emergency where he could just put the flames out. No, it's the possibility of burning down the entire apartment and he can't control his flames by putting it _out _at this point. It just grew stronger. He couldn't _reach _the damn thing with his height. He tried to jump. But to no avail, not even _close. _He climbed on top of the counter and snatched it off and waited until it stopped beeping. The noise making him grit his teeth to his sensitive ears and shut his eyes contemplating if he should slam the device against the floor and break it.   
  
But that's definitely going to put him in trouble if he's causing a fire hazard without it, so he sets it aside on the ground and keeps attempting to put out the fire, more water should do. But it's still not working. If anything the burning is _spreading. _He drops the bucket and runs his hands through his hair in frustration.   
  
Coughing with the smoke in his lungs he covered his arm and ran for the bedroom to find his cellphone. First person he called is Meis, because he had to call _one _of them and it didn't take past a ring for him to pick up.  
  
_"Boss?"_  
  
"You don't have to call me that." Lio's voice sounded strained, and Meis caught it no matter how desperately Lio tried to hide it.   
  
_"What's wrong?! Are you in trouble?" _  
  
"I need you to listen to me. I might have accidentally started a fire with my Burnish powers."  
  
_"What?!" _  
  
"I told you to calm down."   
  
_"But boss-- you need to get out of there! I should get Gueira and we can come and get you so you're safe--"_  
  
"Listen if I leave _now _it might draw attention to me." The smoke is going to reach the bedroom at some point, Lio backed up into a corner and squinted at the burn, covering his mouth for another cough. "I have to stay and explain that it was accident, I can't have them suspect _anything_. You will stay. Do not come for me."   
  
Besides, he can't allow a mess up like this conclude plan a so quickly. He has to find a way to control his Burnish powers, and _fast_, and the only way it seemed to be working is when he is relaxed and not in a state of panic. And it _sensed _that panic.  
  
_"Are you sure?! But you could get hurt or arres--"_  
  
"Meis. I'll be fine. Just in case you or Gueira come to check up on me, _don't _do it." There's the sound of a siren going off and Lio clicked his tongue. Someone called the fire department, just his fucking _luck_.   
  
It took some time for Meis to calm down. _"Okay._" He said. Lio breathed in deeply. In a situation like this, calming someone else down is a near challenging task when he's close to dying.   
  
_"There's a fire siren going off._"  
  
"I know. I'll be alright. If anything happens, you will hear from me. If not, you know what to do." With that, Lio hung up.   
  
He comes to two conclusions. Either he might be dead. Or he will have to kill someone.   
  
There's a bang on the door. It's loud and almost as if it flew off the hinges and was broken open. Lio has to crawl over to the door in the bedroom and hide beside it. He continued to cough, either he was going to pass out by the fire caused by his own Burnish powers and die or be held in captivity. For which outcome that happens he's going to have to kill somebody. This is with reason.   
  
_Fuck. _Plan a was really a _terrible _idea if he thought he was going to get this far without being found out.  
  
"_Burning Rescue_!" A voice boomed from the inside, "If there is anyone still in here you need to stay where you are until the fire is put out before you evacuate!"   
  
Lio doesn't say anything, but keeps his mouth covered at the thumping against the ground. He registered that a team of firefighters has arrived and one of them busted in full gear, piloting their suit to get to freezing the fire in the kitchen area.  
  
"I don't see anyone in here!" It sounded like the male voice was talking to someone on the other end of his earpiece, "I'm putting out the fire, don't worry, it's not bad enough to be more than just a one man job. Stay outside and I'll let you guys know if anything gets worse. _Of course _I had to break the fucking _door _open it was locked!"   
  
It took Lio some time to process what he was hearing. Is there a firefighter really in his house or is this just a very idiotic neighbor who decided they wanted to break into his apartment and help? Either way, Lio was going to have to get rid of them. He can't have a _firefighter _of all people discover his true identity he's been battling for countless years.   
  
"I told everyone to evacuate. Are you really yelling at me while there's a fire, now's not the time, Aina!"   
  
Lio's coughs were unbearable. He wasn't piloting his suit and gear and he didn't think he would _have _any intention to do so. But he tried to keep them as muffled as possible throughout the noise, and _somehow _he feels the heat from the room ceasing and cooling down. The smoke remained, however, the flames have stopped.   
  
It's lessening, but the burn in Lio's eyes is still evident. He doesn't want to move, if he went into the kitchen he would have to endure inhaling more smoke into his lungs from the most hazardous area in the home.  
  
"Still putting it out. Flames were all over the kitchen but it didn't spread to the rest of the complex. Just enough for the neighbors to call us about the smoke."   
  
Lio crawled further into the room. This area has no fucking _windows _and the only way to get to the place with fresh air is the balcony in the living area. But he would have to leave and risk being seen.   
  
"I'm gonna eject from Matoi. I'm fully aware if I walk around in here I'm gonna cause more damage with the place, Lucia, especially when I'm swinging this shit around." Footsteps fade briefly, showing that the firefighter has exited, when he arrived once again there were lighter footsteps, still hurried, pounding against the floor.   
  
"It's just a kitchen accident. Ir doesn't seem like any sign of Burnish activity. We haven't _had _that happen in a while. How do I know? There was a burning pot of soup left on the stove. I don't know how that's really possible, maybe it was left on for too long? I'm just as confused as the rest of you." He's more like… arguing, and hearing the incident out loud would make Lio flush with embarrassment if his life weren't at stake.  
  
"I'm opening all the windows to air out the smoke. I have to check if there are any survivors still. I have no choice but to breathe in the smoke, I've already gone inside the first time." The fireman explained.   
  
With the room being dark, Lio used that to his advantage. There is only one firefighter investigating the home and the rest of his team must still be outside. He hears a light hearted, belly laugh come from the firefighter at whoever he seems to be speaking with.   
  
"Don't worry. I'm the only one who's dumb enough to risk his life and run into burning houses, but I have to save people no matter what. I don't care what or who they are and the circumstances, that's the job of a hero, right?"   
  
Lio's eyes crack open just a tiny bit. He had to stay alert, even if those words caught him by surprise. There was still a member of the law enforcement here and they posed as a throat. Disregarding what their morals are.   
  
Footsteps are searching the apartment, although there isn't much to search. It was only a matter of time before the fireman came marching into the bedroom. Lio exahled carefully.   
  
He had a reason to kill, and that was someone threatening to hold him into captivity and find him out. He had to be prepared for the worst case scenario.   
  
"Burning Rescue." The fireman stormed in, announcing boldly. "If there are any survivors hiding in the premise, evacuate--"   
  
Lio bolted from his hiding place, standing up, spinning around and delivering a sharp kick he could muster up at the fireman's side, and when the blow was a success by the curse and the groan slurred from his lips Lio waited for him to whirl around and meet his eyes. He could see a flash of blue, a dark hue and a hefty build, the fireman towering over Lio but it didn't faze him in the slightest.  
  
"Ow!" The intruder shouted, "What the-- what the _fuck _was that for?!" Lio didn't wait for the fireman to finish before attacking him again, leg propelling upward for another kick, then a punch, alternating between the two while the other man blocked the attacks relentlessly while protesting and trying to explain himself.   
  
"Wait, hold on! I'm a part of the Burning Rescue team! We're firefighters!" The way he's skillfully blocking Lio's advances in their sparring even through the soot, while not as thick as before, shows that this fireman is no novice. Lio halted, but his fingers reach upward curling around the fireman's throat firmly and pushing him back against the wall.   
  
"A firefighter." Lio kept his voice low, and menacing. Staying wary. "Where are the other tenants?"   
  
"I told them to evacuate safely."   
  
"And you're checking for survivors."   
  
"Well-- yeah, that's my job. Your hand is really _warm_ for some reason."   
  
Gasping, on instinct Lio's grip softens on the man's jaw and he retracts as if _he's _the one who's been burned. But the fireman is not a Burnish… he's just a regular human who's working in the fire department with one job, to save lives. To save the lives of civilians who are not like Lio.   
  
"Are you hurt?" It is the first question that comes out of the man's mouth, then he's turning over to speak into his earpiece. "There's one survivor. I'll take care of it, guys. Make sure the civilians are escorted back inside safely and check if there's any other fire hazards."   
  
Lio thinks he has to kill this man. But for some reason, he can't bring himself to. When his fight or flight response is activated…the panic is seeping through his veins. He feels trepidation, his hands shaking, all he has to do is ignite the spark but it's more like his powers are submitting, retracting. Hiding.   
  
The smoke in his lungs is making him feel weaker, God damn it, that must be why.   
  
"Stay away from me." Lio breathed, and he stepped back, slowly.   
  
"I promise I'm not gonna hurt you." The fireman said. "Like I said before. I'm a fireman."   
  
The words fade in and out, Lio heard them. But they sound distant. His knees buckle and he nearly collapsed before a pair of strong arms catch him from falling.  
  
"Whoa whoa whoa! How long have you been hiding here for? You're lucky you hid in here and stayed low to the ground or else you would've ended up breathing in all that smoke."   
  
"Like you _haven't_?" Lio griped, he wanted to push the man off but instead his hands are placed on his chest for leverage.  
  
"We gotta get you outta here." The fireman explained. He's telling his team the survivor is alright, just escaped the fire with minor injuries, small burns, nothing too serious. He sounds calm and collected considering the fact that Lio didn't hesitate to whoop his ass into next week. He's being taken out of the apartment to head safely down the staircase and find a place in the lobby until the smoke clears, where he's seated down by the large glass windows where there's a space for seating.   
  
"I'll be right back." The fireman stood up, questioning where all the tenants stood as the rescue team filed into the complex to storm up to the room, Lio stayed seated where he was, pursing his lips. He feels bare in a way when the fireman leaves. Like the warmth he was providing made him feel some kind of safeness. The paramedics are now asking him questions and it's not until the fireman comes back with a first aid kit mentioning he had to deal with returning his suit. But Lio tried not to give them too much information, he's given an oxygen mask and he's told to breathe in and out, a bottle of water -- and Lio feels like he's suffocating. Not because of the musk of smoke back in his apartment, it's the overwhelm that he feels from all this attention on him.   
  
He should be expecting this, some sort of trial and error to fall hand in hand with a plan such as this. When the mask is removed he could breathe again.  
  
This was all very embarrassing and he couldn't afford to get _caught_. Feeling relief when the fireman came back and offered to tend to Lio's wounds. It was not like he was harmed or anything, but he did inhale some of the smoke and made his body feel weak. And he couldn't afford to try and inflict harm on anybody when it's still a little light out.  
  
"Don't know if you heard me when I broke in. But I was there to put the fire out from your little accident back there." The fireman is holding Lio's hand and now nursing it, which Lio hadn't noticed was burned from trying to tame the flame. The flame _he _caused. Still, Lio doesn't say anything. He just watched, and he realized that his hand still burns, and it makes him flinch.   
  
_And you call yourself a Burnish with pride. Pathetic. _Lio thought. He can't be inflicting damage on _himself _by this.   
  
"Galo." The fireman spoke after some time, his voice is gentle. Like he's caught on to Lio being cautious. "Galo Thymos."   
  
"I don't want to go to the hospital." Lio muttered. "I am perfectly fine."   
  
"Normally that would be advised since it's protocol."   
  
"But I'm not _dead_."   
  
Galo chuckled, bandaging Lio's hand. "Still protocol. You can't take care of these burns yourself, can you?"   
  
Lio bit his lip. It's fine. As long as he could play it off as if he's a citizen of Promepolis, then it's _fine. _  
  
"So, kitchen fire. Huh. How'd that happen?"  
  
Oh _God_. Lio knew Galo was awaiting a response, so he sighed exasperatedly.  
  
"Cooking." Since that's the only logical explanation, which was the truth.   
  
"You gotta be a little more careful there."   
  
"Believe me, I've tried."   
  
For some reason what Lio said Galo finds humorous and Lio doesn't trace an _ounce _of suspicion within Galo's features. He's carefully wrapping Lio's hand in bandages after applying antibiotics and his movements are fluid, practiced, delicate. Like he's been doing this for quite some time now.   
  
"Kitchen fires happen all the time. We have chemical fires, anything that combustible, electrical, it's pretty common. As long as we are able to verify how they happen then we wouldn't have to suspect any Burnish activity." Galo explained, "Hell, the past few fires we've been puttin' out are just people being a lil reckless, but thankfully usually no one gets hurt."   
  
Lio drew out a sigh of relief, but he keeps it subtle. So that he doesn't let Galo catch it. "When was the last time you suspected Burnish activity?"   
  
"Usually in large corporate buildings, like in the city. It's where they target. But in suburban neighborhoods like this with a smaller concentration of people, you don't get much."   
  
"I see."   
  
"Just because of all the shit that's been happening you would think people wouldn't still _cause _normal house fires, huh?"   
  
What Lio caused isn't a typical house fire. But he made a mumble of acknowledgment. Because he can't reveal that to a fireman. He's not suspicious, and Galo made that clear to the rescue team that it's just another accident so that the tenants can be escorted back inside safely.   
  
A calloused hand is placed on his forehead, and it made Lio stiffen in place.  
  
“You’re really burnin’ up.” Galo leaned in uncomfortably close, and Lio had to take Galo’s hands and pull them off, politely putting it back in Galo’s lap.  
  
“I told you that I’m fine.”  
  
“You always warm like this?”

“I could say the same about you.”  
  
Galo paused for a moment, then he registered the response. Humored. Lio doesn’t understand what’s so _funny. _  
  
“You’re like me then, huh. Guess so. My fire fighting soul’s always burnin’ bright as ever.”  
  
_You’re like me. Not even close. _Lio thought. But he allowed the fireman to revel in that realization.  
  
“That still gives me more of a reason to get you checked up.” Galo reminded, “And I can’t take no for an answer. Sorry, no can do. Still to make sure you don’t pass out and die on us.”  
  
Lio clicked his tongue. Reluctant by Galo's request has to be escorted to the hospital for a check up of his wounds. 

☆☆☆  
  
  
  
  
Lio's hand is healing quite nicely.   
  
He spent two weeks trying to learn how to tame his Burnish power however, the only good that does is cause more fires.   
  
At this point he's really going to get himself arrested.   
  
Meis and Gueira really think that Lio's plan is faulty as all Hell and they're concerned for his well being. _Yes_. Lio knows if the Burning Rescue keeps showing up they're going to suspect something. His apartment complex is going to suspect something.  
  
His landlord is fearing that the old building is combustible by nature and that if these fires continue he's going to have to close it down and give tenants a week to find somewhere else to live. Lio doesn't _mean _to keep on encountering Galo again but he doesn't have a choice. So Galo opted that they exchange numbers (against Lio's will) and said that if he's on duty or off duty just give him a call the next time there's trouble not avoid angering the tenants so he can see what the Hell is going on with his apartment building, whatever it was, it was clearly strange.  
  
The last hospital visit didn't ease Lio's nerves in the slightest. When they were done checking on his wounds Lio called his two comrades to come and take him back to the Burnish settlement, and they were worriedly asking about Lio's hand. But he shut it down claiming it was nothing serious, on their way to a convenience store to stock up on food before heading over and making sure that all the people sheltered inside were fed and cleaned up regularly. Despite his own problems he still had a _job _to do. Their own boss was barely around and was a greedy bastard who likely used this to his own advantage to abduct any Burnish out there to hand over to the government for cash on his own time and uses only a small portion of what he has to provide for the settlements and giving some to those who are helping to _keep _these places running, otherwise the Burnish without homes out there would have nowhere to stay. If they cannot live among the civilians they could at least be sheltered.   
  
Once Lio moved forward with his plans one day he just might kill the boss and take matters of being in charge of the Burnish settlement. He wanted to protect each and every single one of them, even if he had to risk his own life. His comrades were by his side. But he knew he couldn't move too quickly. There are many opportunities to overthrow the government in a future time.   
  
Only if he learned how to control his fucking powers.  
  
He comes back to his recovering apartment, motorcycle left in the parking lot. He's still running off instant food, and exhaustion is wearing over him. His boots clicking against his charred floor and he has to remind himself to do some cleaning in the morning, sitting on the kitchen table and running a hand through his hair.   
  
The leftover dust from the ashes is making him sneeze and his hair is flying in multiple directions, blowing fire from his nose and through his hands. If he looked in the mirror he would look like an angry cartoon character who blows out steam from their nostrils or if the top of their noggin flips right off like an erupting volcano. That perfectly describes Lio's state of being.  
  
He doesn't bother turning off the lights, removing his gloves instead. He stared at his broken microwave, which had exploded only two days ago which had him ducking and rolling across the floor to avoid getting injured by any flying debris. For a split second, he wants to hate his life. It's tempting. But he must try to acknowledge that being a Burnish is every fiber of his being, coursing through his veins, in his blood. Until the day he dies.   
  
Lio stared at his phone, and wondered if he should delete Galo's number. He should have killed him. Lio thought. But Galo showed nothing but kindness, and has patience for someone who has to constantly drive a large truck to his complex to put out the fires he's accidentally started.   
  
He has a _reason. _But Galo isn't suspicious. He's not anything. Maybe if he were, just the tiniest bit, Lio would consider _doing _so. But instead he sends a fucking text to the contact with the fireman's name with a set of firetruck and fire emojis it makes Lio's eyes hurt.  
  
**Lio [1:36 A.M]: **I'll take on that offer for the broken microwave.   
  
Other than Meis and Gueira he only bothered to have the fireman as a contact because he so stubbornly insisted that he needs to _hero _to come to his rescue and deliver top-notch quality service of fighting fires. Lio turned his phone face down, groaning. He's really going to starve to death.   
  
His hand itches. The weather is cool, but he constantly feels warm and not cold. He feels so on edge he has to jerk his hand away feeling the table underneath him sizzle.   
  
"I'm not angry." Lio scolded. "Stop using my emotions to do your troublemaking work."   
  
The table sizzled again under Lio's palm lying flat on the table. An action, the flames would respond in a way that said make_ me._ Lio calmed down. It seems the heat always subsided and behaved when Lio was laid back. Pretending that he wasn't stirred up by the inability to control it. It's a step closer to gaining more control, it's just that he acted out at times and Lio's emotions just stir it on even more.  
  
A part of him asked why he couldn't have just been normal. Like Galo, a fireman, or citizens of Promepolis who weren't Burnish. But he had to live with who he was as a child, and until now. But he had to take on the responsibility of knowing that his powers were either meant for defense, or for harm.   
  
He opened his palm, and made a flame ignite. His exhaustion is evident because the flame is small, but Lio sighed.  
  
"If you are a part of me," He whispered, "Then you and I are going to have to work together whether you like it or not."   
  
It doesn't respond. Though Lio knows it's stubbornness and failure to obey his command.  
  
"They could take you away from me. You are the power that I possess that they don't _want_."   
  
It appeared as if the flame were growing smaller. The scars on his hand are evident, but the blisters and the redness disappearing. Lio used his other hand to cup the flame into his palm, and it burns silently. A shade of cobalt, mixed with violet, bright but glorious.   
  
"If I'm _dead_, that means that you are as well. I know talking to you must be hopeless. But I can't contain the thoughts in my head without saying it out loud, hoping that maybe you would stop being so stubborn." Lio continued. This is hopeless. Ridiculous, even. That he has been trying for so long. "Is there a secret, a way that I can control you? Somehow?" In some _way. _  
  
Then he realized. It's learning. Learning to adjust to command. Learning to be a part of Lio.   
  
"Please." The words coming out of Lio's mouth is nearly inaudible. He gently clasped his hands together, then reopened them. With all the intent for the flame to vanish.  
  
It does.   
  
His phone vibrates beside him, making him jump. But he stilled, trying to calm his beating heart. _It's nothing to fear. _He thought. There's no danger. Or else he would have to say goodbye to this dining table if it combusts in flames next. The text is from Galo.  
  
**Galo [1:57 A.M]: **Look who finally texted me! ^^   
  
**Lio [1:58 A.M]: **Yes. It is me.   
  
**Galo [1:58 A.M]: **Sure thing!!! Gimme like… two days   
  
**Galo [1:58 A.M]: **Isn't it a little late to be texting me? I figured you would be asleep   
  
**Lio [2:00 A.M]: **And is there a reason why you're awake?   
  
**Galo [2:05 A.M]: **Ah, damn… you gotta point there, ok, ok, touchè :)   
  
**Galo [2:05 A.M]: **I was actually doing some stuff at the firehouse, but I'm done now. If I'm gonna get some sleep then you should too.  
  
A notification popped up mentioning that his phone was overheating. Lio decided to take Galo's advice, and let go of his phone abruptly because of how tightly he gripped it in his hands.  
  
He's flustered.  
  
But that doesn't make any sense. _Why. _  
  
He doesn't communicate with people through cell phone unless it's an emergency. He doesn't _text_. When you spend most of your life concealing your identity and never settle anywhere permanently, it's important to shut off the moral idea of being _known_ in general. Perhaps by somebody that isn't a Burnish, or a companion, a temporary neighbor, or his landlord. 

☆☆☆

Meis and Gueira announced there's a new place to infiltrate, an abandoned building where a bunch of sick fucks were kidnapping Burnish people -- and they were one of the many trafficking them, likely a mole for the government. So that's where they ventured, around one a.m in the morning.

Lio kicked the door open and the group of goons are out in the open, likely in the midst of plotting where to transport their hostages next. The leader shot up, and his men arm themselves, prepared to attack.

"How the _fuck _did you find us?!" 

"We have connections. Connections for the sole purpose of exterminating scum like you." Lio gave a single nod of his head, and Meis and Gueira sped towards the goons easily forming the flames in their hands ready to flay them alive. But they didn't go down without a fight, Lio lending a helping hand, even though they were outnumbered years of teaching themselves self-defense played at an advantage in the long run. 

"You people are Burnish?!"

"More of us exist, news flash to you sick bastards." Gueira spat, drawing a fist back to throw one hard jab enough to break one of the men's teeth open. Lio ran at the wall to use it as a kickstart, airborne, he slammed the heel of his boot into the side of his head to finish the job, the bodies of the henchmen falling to the floor one by one. 

Whenever who he focused on attacking left him open his comrades were there to back him up and defend him, and they've gotten roughed up quite a bit considering the group of men likely expected to be caught by other Burnish, or even the authorities suspecting any activity. Lio thanked them, until the leader was the last one left standing Meis and Gueira grab both his hands and burn them by squeezing tightly -- until the leader was screaming in agony, screaming in mercy. Lio doesn't flinch. The bastard deserved it. 

The leader fell to his knees. Wiping the blood off his mouth from the punch to the face he withstood, Lio kneeled down in front of him. 

"Don't tell me you're dead yet." Meis scoffed.

"Fuck the three of you freaks." The man spat. Gueira delivered another kick to the man's cheek.

"You're the one who's kidnapping innocent people like a puppet for the government!"

Lio put up a hand. Meis and Gueira stopped. "We can't kill them, but we could inflict enough damage to teach them a lesson that we will find them again if they ever do this again." He nodded his head towards the leader's hands. 

First, they don't stop burning his hands. Then they get to his face, until he's begging for his life to be spared so he could possibly stop enduring more torture and spewing out profanities to Lio's questions. Lio could easily finish the job, burn him alive. Do exactly what they've done to others, what Lio and his comrades did to his friends, groaning in pain at the burns that littered their bodies.

"Tell me where the captives are." 

"Go to Hell."

"We've been burning it since the day we were _born_." Lio glared fiercely, "Next time you retaliate then we might consider making you completely immobile."

Terrified, the leader whimpered and cowered in fear. "We're doing them a favor! And getting rid of us isn't gonna stop that!"

"What you're doing is no good deed at all, because we are people." Lio reminded him, patience thinning. "And this is the consequence you will pay."

Gueira kept his bone-crushing grip, precisely so that the sizzling off skin peeling off can resonate off the walls of this dimmed small room. "He asked you a question. Answer it if you want your life."

"They're in the fucking basement! I swear!" Head bowing down to the ground, wincing, the leader surrendered. "I--I can't take it anymore."

"_Get out._" Lio snarled, kicking the man in his side, and he barked the same action at the rest of them. "Get _out. _I don't want to see any of your faces again or else the next time, we _will not _hesitate to leave any of you alive."

It took not less than a minute for the men to stop squirming and crawl, unable to stand to their feet, but Meis and Gueira kick them out of the building and tell them to scram, scram as far as they can, leave this city and to never come back or they're a deadman. Lio was already on his way to the basement, seeing to it that the bastards chained the door shut, and he melted the chains enough to loosen them and yanked it off to the floor, kicking the door open with all of his might.

Lio's eyes widen.

Pairs of eyes blink back at him, eyes filled with tears, streaming down chubby cheeks. Belonging to four small children.

"I can't believe this." Meis gawked, "When we were told that they were holding hostages--"

"The fact that they were only children were left out." Lio finished for him.

"Boss..." Gueira said worriedly, "We usually... don't find kids being held hostage, alone, not like this."

Lio doesn't answer, instead, he slowly approached the children. Meis and Gueira follow behind him, and Lio bent down. Hugging each other, the children huddle closer. The oldest one, a boy, speaks. He stared at his comrades, and they shook their heads. They're not good with talking with children. Giving them an exasperated look, Lio averted his attention back to the kids.

"We didn't do anything wrong. Don't kill us!"

"I have no reason to." Lio snapped his fingers, then held out his pointer finger -- until the tiniest flame appeared. Remaining calm, his goal was to make the children trust him, and their eyes are widening the size of saucers.

"We are like you." He said.

A little girl, perhaps the youngest, touched Lio's finger. "He can make fire!"

Her older sister hugged her close, "Who are you?" She asked.

"I am Lio Fotia. This is Meis and Gueira. Our job is to find people like us, who are in trouble, and we provide shelter for them."

"Like... like superheroes?" The second oldest boy of the family asked.

The question was so ridiculous Lio almost laughed, but he put a finger to his lips, eyes on the youngest girl. 

"Shh. We are undercover. Secret, superheroes. Those men were going to do bad things, and we came just in time to stop it."

"We got separated from our parents, we were living with them in the city, and they took them. Those men, then they took us." The oldest brother explained, "Now we don't... we don't know where our parents are."

He can see some of the bandages wrapped around their wrists, arms, parts of their bodies that make the hatred in Lio's chest burn stronger. They tried to adapt in society as a family as Lio did, and it didn't end up working out for them. He wondered how many more people are hoping that they could, somewhere, without being found.

"Do you guys have any idea where they could be?" The oldest sister had asked, hopeful. Lio wished he knew. And he won't hesitate to find out when he gets the chance to.

"Just know that you will be safe with us." He can't promise anything, as much as it hurt to admit. Lio stood up, holding out his hands. "We will take you somewhere, where there are more Burnish."

The children easily latch onto Lio like superglue. His heart swelled. He kept them close when they hurriedly exited the building.

He stayed at their settlement the entire night to tend to and keep tabs on everyone.

☆☆☆

Food is running low on stock.  
  
Lio decided that he needed to go grocery shopping, not for the Burnish settlements, but for himself. If he couldn't make food that wasn't instant then he was sure he would probably die. He needs food to eat, too.   
  
Galo isn't coming until the next day with his microwave. Lio's stomach is growling and if he is hungry, he would get cranky. Then he would be overheating everything he touches and cause a fire.   
  
His kitchen is recovering, he had to scrub down what was left of the ash all over his furniture. Hesitating to even bother leaving the home because he figured that staying in hiding and having no one see his face would do. But isolation is one way to draw suspicion. He’s garnered the reputation of the third floor apartment building that constantly catches on fire against his will, and what if the tenant’s a burnish, or what if he just can’t make a proper meal to save his life, or perhaps the complex is in danger of going in flames because all the furniture is too old and can combust for whatever strange reason.  
  
It gives Lio a headache, but he gives off the impression that he’s fine, and he’s trying to be more careful. Leaves the house without giving anyone a spare glance and drives off to the supermarket. People find him intimidating, donned in all black, which was ninety percent of his wardrobe. But he doesn’t care, he barely slept a wink. He came back around five a.m in the morning and stayed awake contemplating rebellion, the long night spent evident in the bags under his eyes.

He’s just shopping for fuck’s sake. _Look away. _  
  
He wasn’t looking to make anything that took, long, he just needed to make something to add over to the minimal leftovers in the fridge, so maybe yaki udon would do. He’s at the fresh produce, stuffing onions and carrots into his basket when he hears a voice and that voice sounds eerily familiar mixed with another female’s.  
  
“I don’t understand why _we _should go.”  
  
“Everytime we play the _not it _game it just happens that we’re the only two who are the last ones. And the objective was, as Lucia explicitly stated, _has to get the groceries_.”  
  
“Do I look like a fucking grocery person to you? You could’ve just went with Remi!”  
  
“Yeah I _would _but he’s too…”  
  
Lio fled within the frozen foods aisle, and he’s tempted to peer inside to see what he could take. In twenty-four hours, he’d get a new microwave. He gave into three packs of gyoza.  
  
“He’s too serious.”

“Not really sure if he’s got any other damn facial expressions.”  
  
“Exactly. Besides, we can’t keep heading over to get some deep dish pizza like we do every week. We have a big open kitchen where he could pretty much make anything we want, otherwise, funding for the firehouse kinda goes to waste if we’re not using it.”  
  
Most likely another member of the Burning Rescue team with Galo. Lio supposed if he continued with shopping like normal, trying to avoid them then he wouldn’t bump into them. He was wrong. He thinks Galo and the woman have split up because when he makes a sharp turn in pursuit of soy sauce he bumps right into Galo’s sturdy figure, just his luck.  
  
“Beep beep!” Galo said, his eyes widening surprise but it narrows as he chuckled, “Didn’t see you there, hey!”  
  
“Hello.” Lio smiled bitterly, but he succeeds in greeting the fireman as politely as he could muster.  
  
“What are you up to?”  
  
“Grocery shopping.”  
  
“If I’d known you be out here shoppin’ for stuff you could’ve let me know or somethin’ so I don’t have to run into you.”  
  
“Why would I do that?” Galo’s still technically a _stranger_, or well sort of.  
  
“You’re a friend!” Galo grinned, “Well-- I mean. I consider you as one.”  
  
It was a kind suggestion, Lio would feel guilty for turning it down. When he knew that he should, considering his identity on the line here. But Lio just smiles a little, he hated how genuine it looked, and said nothing.  
  
“I’ve been helping you out with the weird fires startin’ in your house for like, a week now, and I just realized,” Galo squinted, as it dawns upon him, and Lio feels a little bit more dread well up inside him. “I _never _got to catch your name.”  
  
_Oh. _  
  
“What are you, the FBI?” Lio blurted out. He needed to rethink how he decided to interact with people he didn’t know very well, Galo, specifically, when he was probably just curious. It was only fair, because Lio’s never mentioned his name to Galo once and he’d prefer if he didn’t find out in passing. But it made Galo snort, and Lio is gripping his basket tighter, cheeks flushed crimson.  
  
“No, I’m not the FBI. But a good guess. I’m a firefighter.” Galo smirked, then he winked. He’s playing along with this.   
  
“Galo you _fuckhead_\--” The female stormed in between their conversation, “You’re supposed to be helping me shop too and not flirting with strangers!”  
  
The exclamation made Lio drop the basket on Galo’s foot and the apology that escapes his lips is on instinct, the basket is heavy, and there’s other stuff in there Lio needed to stock up on, like cartons of drinks. Galo let out a wheeze.  
  
“_Motherfucker_.”  
  
“My-- my apologies.”  
  
“No, no! It’s fine, it’s fine I got it.” Galo bent down to pick up the metallic handle, but he jerks his hand back at the contact, “Shit, why’s this so _hot_?!”  
  
Lio thought he was going to break into a sweat, so he snatched the basket back and quickly picked it up.   
  
“Wait a second.” The female helped Galo up by taking a hold of his hand, and she’s got rose golden hair and eyes turquoise, dark, and inspecting. “Aren’t you the dude who lives in that one district in Promepolis? Where the apartment complex is being set on fire like, constantly, by some possibly Burnish pyromaniac?”  
  
“Lio.” Lio introduced himself teresely, avoiding answering the question directly. But he would rather be addressed by name to avoid any suspicion. Now this girl, this girl’s smart. Unlike Galo. “Lio Fotia. I am one of the residents.”  
  
“For your information, Aina, I _was_. I just ran into him ‘cause I knew him!” Turns out Galo was still angry from what Aina had said _earlier_ and that breaks the tension because Aina is now staring at him with a hard glare.  
  
“Oh, yeah, sure you were. Why’s your basket empty then?”  
  
“Like I said, I was socializing.” Galo scoffed, “Lio, this is Aina. One of the members of my team, we’re making dinner for the firehouse and she dragged me here, so that’s why I’m here.”  
  
“It’s nice to meet you, Lio, but my friend Galo here? He needs to get his butt grocery shopping or he’s never going to hear the end of it.” Aina punched him in the shoulder, walking away. “Next time I check up on you you better have some of the ingredients in your basket.”  
  
“Yeah, yeah sure _mom_.” Galo muttered.  
  
“Friends?” Lio asked.  
  
“Of course. And, she’s just one of my good friends.” Galo said.  
  
“I wonder why you feel the need to explain that.” Lio teased, and now it made Galo flustered.

“I just assumed you were asking in _that _way.”  
  
“I have more shopping to do.” Lio prepared to excuse himself.   
  
Galo’s reaching to hold one of Lio’s hands, and instead of jerking his hand back, Lio lets him. Like both him and _it _surrenders to the fireman’s touch and leaves him frozen in place.  
  
“How’s your hand?” Galo murmured. This man really has a habit of catching him off guard.  
  
“I’m surprised you’ve found room in your seemingly small brain to remember.”  
  
“No shit I’m gonna remember.” Galo frowned, “I saved your life multiple times, and I know you’ve with stained some pretty bad burns ‘cause of it. I can’t help but ask. It’s just my nature.”  
  
He has the caring nature of a loveable firefighter and hero that Promepolis loves so much, and Lio could see why. It’s just his words, being laced with such gentleness, and him speaking so boldly making Lio feel warmer in ways that are not even possible.  
  
“You don’t have to ask.” Lio kept it curt and short.  
  
“But I care, so I’m gonna ask anyway. Don’t really know how to explain it, but I’ve been worryin’ a lot about you and how you were doing. Your place’s gotten roughed up pretty bad and all, and I just want you to know if you need a helping hand with stuff you don’t have to hesitate to ask me.” Galo empathize. Somehow he could see to it what Lio really wanted deep inside, and Lio thinks he should’ve just strangled this man when he had the chance. If he kills him, he had to admit the fact that he’s fond of Galo. But Lio doesn’t.  
  
“It’s healing.” Is the only thing Lio could really say, stunned at a loss of words.  
  
“Good, good.” Galo’s thumb brushes along Lio’s knuckle, an unconscious movement. Galo’s hand is scorching, but not as much as Lio’s due to him feeling so worked up over physical contact, which he doesn’t _do _with people. Lio met Galo’s gaze, his heart rate speeds up. Like Galo is analyzing him, and no, he can’t let that happen. He thinks he might explode.  
  
_You’re Burnish. _  
  
Lio pulled his hand away, but not too roughly. Just enough that Galo slipped his fingers off Lio’s hand.  
  
“Aina really wants you to tend to those groceries,” Lio said quickly. “It was nice seeing you, Galo.”  
  
“Lio, text me. Or call me.” Galo smiled, and _fuck. _Lio thinks he might be screwed. He doesn’t say anything and he makes sure to quickly finish up with all his groceries before he’s leaving, because if he makes any more eye contact with Galo maybe fire might start erupting from his scalp if possible, for it to lift off his head. Literally.

☆☆☆  
  
  
  
He hasn’t dressed up for the day or showered before Galo is knocking on the door announcing that he’s holding a heavy microwave. Lio opened the door, only slightly with the lock still attached, then shut it back in Galo’s face. Eyes wide and cheeks a shade of crimson that he was _not _in the state of mind, or dress, still in his pajamas and slippers.  
  
It takes him thirty minutes to change into a black button-down tucked into black jeans, slippers still on. Then he’s back to open the door and let the fireman in with the microwave now sitting beside him on the floor. He’s wearing a leather jacket with a red sweater beneath, a pair of denim jeans and sneakers. Different from the tight white shirt and work attire, which were just baggy cargo pants and suspenders. He’s tapping away on his phone, hands still donned in fingerless gloves that cover a fraction of his wrist to the cuff of his jacket sleeves when he looks up to see Lio still drying his hair with a towel wrapped around his head.   
  
“Yo.” Galo gives Lio a nod. “All dressed?”  
  
Lio nodded silently.   
  
“Figured so because you looked different when you closed the door in my face.”  
  
“Is that supposed to be an insult?”  
  
“Nah, you still look cute either way.”  
  
“Okay, your only purpose being here is to install my new microwave.”  
  
“I gotcha, I gotcha,” But Galo’s grinning. He lifted up the microwave and almost dropped it in the process so Lio had to rush over and help lift it, even though it was very heavy, guiding Galo into his apartment and closing the door shut.   
  
“Be careful you _fool_, you are going to hurt yourself.”  
  
“Lifted heavier things. This ain’t anything, practically nothing.”  
  
“Then explain why you were about to crush every single bone in your foot.”  
  
“I dunno, I guess I wanted to impress you.” Galo lifted the microwave onto the counter, and Lio stared at him, not understanding why he feels so concerned for the fireman, but he just does, and it’s uncontrollable.  
  
“You’re unbelievable.”  
  
“Did I do it?”  
  
“Not in the slightest.” 

The man’s actually sulking. It made Lio snort, and for the first time -- he acknowledges that other than his comrades Meis and Gueira, that… he doesn’t really have many people to interact with. When duty calls he’s supposed to be a helping hand, a leader, to people who admire him and look up to him for dragging them out of dangerous places and giving them a safe haven. But he only had two comrades he could consider friends, and they were out handling Lio’s busy work because they wanted him to try and adapt to society.  
  
Loneliness is what he feels. But it doesn’t… make Lio feel sad, only when Galo is around there’s some kind of warmth that vanishes and maybe, it feels just a tiny bit cold when the fireman is gone. He lights up the entire room with his smile, and as he fixes the new microwave into Lio’s kitchen he’s going on about his job and funny stories that take place while they are on duty. The Burning Rescue team is like a happy family, they get into silly disputes, sometimes Ignis is not having it with everyone shouting at each other about nonsense and threatens to put all of them on morning duty if they stop acting like preschool children.   
  
He talked about annoying Remi and trying to stir reactions out of him, to make him laugh, even, and most of the time it works to no avail. So they tried betting money on it to make it more interesting. Even Varys takes part, but Ignis doesn’t. Lio doesn’t really say much, he just watched, and listened. Lio and Meis and Gueira were more strictly to business, and again, they looked up to _him _and never built a relationship based on being playfully insulting, but the love and affection is still there.   
  
“When people think of firefighters they think of saving lives and rolling into burning buildings, putting fires out. It ain’t really about that. I like most the friends I made in the academy and getting to work together in the firehouse. We grew with each other, and it’s nothing but love. We got each other’s back. I would do anything for them.” Galo’s smile is sentimental, “I feel like it’s my turn to do what I’ve always wanted, helping people in need at the time of any emergency.”  
  
Lio felt at a loss of words, wanting to provide some type of comfort. He owed Galo that much.   
  
“I appreciate it. You coming here to help me. I know your team must think this is all a little… strange, but you’re the one who’s taking time out of your day to visit me and see how my place is doing.”   
  
“I don’t see any way in being subtle about it.” Galo sighed, and he’s finished installing the microwave. He stared at Lio. “I like you, and I like coming to see you.”  
  
Lio’s eyes broaden, “Are you daft?”  
  
Galo shrugged, with a lopsided smile. “Maybe.”  
  
“Normally someone doesn’t just come into somebody else’s house and… and says something like that.”  
  
“I did. Have you ever had that happen to you before already, or am I the first?”  
  
Lio scoffed, it almost sounded like a laugh. Perhaps he did laugh, shucking the towel off his head, hair now dry.   
  
“You don’t know much about me, I-- I mean.” He tried to say, appalled, mustering up the right words. “How, how could you--?”  
  
“Gettin’ there. Mind if I stay, or you got some better things to do?” Galo tapped the top of the microwave with his large hand. “This baby’s all ready to go.”  
  
“...Thank you.” Lio murmured. One, he doesn’t have better things to do. Not right at the moment.   
  
Galo hummed, sizing Lio from head to toe. “Since you’re dressed, how about I take you to this really awesome joint that my team and I love to go to. Just you and me.”  
  
_Fuck it_. Lio thought. “Please do not tell me you drove here in one of the fire trucks.”   
  
“Nah. I have my own ride, something I deserved with my well-earned pay.” Galo winked. “Get your shoes.”

☆☆☆  
  
  
  
Lio’s never eaten pizza.  
  
He’s eaten a plethora of dishes, gourmet, or just homemade. He could name plenty. It’s just that his mind never instantly craved pizza one day, so he’s just never taken a try at eating.  
  
But it’s messy as he eats it, and he’s holding it like he’s unsure how to cradle a pizza in his hands. It showed, because Galo is laughing. A man who seemed to be the owner noticed Lio and inquired Galo on who the new face was, Lio could see the blush on Galo’s cheeks. Mentioning something along the lines of a new friend.  
  
Galo is the one to eat most of the slices of the full pizza, Lio only manages to eat through two.  
  
“How is it?” Galo asked.  
  
“...Good.” Lio responded that was after he swallowed. “Just how often do you eat here?”  
  
Licking his fingers, which makes Lio grimace, even more, _concerned_ that this man loved the chew while he talked, Galo replied, “We eat here _a lot. _More like we’re regulars. It’s our thing, like our spot.”  
  
Lio chuckled, “Don’t know if that’s very healthy.”  
  
“Probably not. But it’s just so fucking _good._”  
  
Lio had to agree, tucking a strand behind his ear taking another bite, and he has to avoid getting stains on his shirt or his hair falling into the sauce. He made sure to carefully clean his fingers.  
  
They talk until it turns dark out, and Galo took Lio somewhere high up in the city where it was much more colder. But he liked to clear his thoughts here. It’s somewhere near the mountains, and Lio stiffened at how close they are to Burnish territory, but Galo doesn’t seem to mind.   
  
“I jus’ come here to walk around and breathe in the fresh air,” Galo explained. “It’s quiet here. Sometimes the city is too loud, and I can just be here with my thoughts.”  
  
The ice is slippery, so they don’t wander off too far. Lio didn’t want to melt it, so he stood just where the pool of ice started. Galo doesn’t either. Just standing side by side. Lio folded his arms to hug himself, staring at the stars beginning to form one by one, painting the skyline beautifully.   
  
“What do you think of the Burnish? Existing in society?” He asked.  
  
“Ah… I think that if they’re putting people in danger is when they could be a bit of a problem. Because it puts the lives of everyone living in this city at risk.” Galo explained.   
  
“Have you ever considered that they are just human beings as well? Being exiled among the society they could live in, only if they were normal, instead -- the innocent have to suffer…” Lio stared downcast, “Suffer trying to control something that they can’t help that they were born with, against their will.”  
  
“It’s…” Galo hesitated, “It’s more like our government wants them eradicated, even the ones who aren’t posing harm towards others.”  
  
“And you would choose to follow it?”  
  
“It’s already happened once.” Galo muttered, “I know it ain’t right to see someone you care about be taken away from you just because they possess something they shouldn’t have. But what can we say if it’s law, huh.”  
  
“That taking the lives of innocent people is wrongful, and the shame it puts on the people who are simply… trying to coexist.” Lio turned to Galo, sincere. “You should be careful with who you trust, because even the people in charge could secretly be monsters on the inside.”  
  
Returning Lio’s gaze, he does heed the warning. He chuckled, solemnly. “You’re not wrong on that. But I’m debating if I should see it for myself.” Galo stared down at his feet. “Not yet.” He shoved his hands into his pockets.  
  
“Would you want to protect someone who was a Burnish?” Lio couldn’t help but ask. “What if you haven’t known that someone you’ve known… all along, wasn’t like you?”  
  
“If this is suddenly a test of wisdom or some shit, then you’re damn right I’m going to protect them,” Galo said without much thought. “Especially if this person is innocent, and just trying to coexist like anyone else. It’s just how this city is built to be, cautious of everybody and their every fucking move. But if I had to risk my own life to keep someone I care about safe, so be it. I’d have to destroy the whole planet if I have to.” He laughed, and Lio struggled to breathe, for a moment.  
  
“You are aware that you are a fool.” He murmured. He could say so, right now… but it’s best, if he kept his identity a secret from Galo. It’s best if he didn’t drag Galo into his mess and make him feel conflicted about his morals. “You are a hero. You do what you see best fit, and what’s right for you.”  
  
“Underneath all that hero stuff, I’m still just a fireman who’s doing his job. A regular ol’ fella. Sometimes I get to pilot a sick robot.” The stuff that comes out of Galo’s mouth is so unexpected it made Lio laugh. He can see his breath in the air as he breathes.  
  
“In all seriousness. I’m still aware of the stuff that’s goin’ on… just really wonderin’ if I’m capable of stopping it, the colonel is a piece of shit and we all know that for a fact.” Galo crossed his hands behind his head, “Burnish or not, we deserve to simply just live our lives. We got a right to. If we’re not causin’ any trouble or doing anything wrong.”  
  
Lio stared at his hands, his right with the old faded scars. To coexist. He must adapt. Find a sense of balance. But he knew that Promepolis wasn’t lenient with how they wanted civilization.   
  
“The Burnish are endangered,” Lio whispered, melancholy seeping into his words, almost like a plea. “How many of them will have to die in order to reach satisfaction?”  
  
“I don’t know.” Galo clenched his fist, “But I wish we’d find out the answer to that one day.”  
  
Lio breathed in deeply, then exhaled. “Tranquility. If fire and water can coexist, create an equilibrium -- if it were to help bring peace, instead of chaos, if it were to neutralize, and not exist at all.”  
  
“...I think you might’ve lost me at trapezoid.”  
  
Lio scoffed. “It’s nothing, you goof. Just voicing my thoughts.”  
  
“It’s getting late.” Galo looked up at the sky, “Let me take you back.”  
  
Lio doesn’t say no, instead he obliged.  
  
Galo walked him back to his building before he leaves. He asked for a hug. Lio doesn’t really know how to respond to that, but is greeted by a hand on the small of his back pulling him close for an embrace, and Galo is warm, the gesture is tender. It makes his heart pound. He can feel the same, head buried in Galo’s chest. Arms reaching up to wrap around his waist. Lio feels like he can relax, being around someone radiating such calidity like Galo does. Safeness. Even if he were supposed to be the enemy. Lio can’t fathom to see him that way.  
  
“I want to see you again.” Galo told Lio, pulling back. Lio mourns at the loss. But this is enough. This should be enough. “When can I?”  
  
“It doesn’t matter if I tell you, because you’d come anytime you want.” Lio said.  
  
“True.” Galo chuckled. “Goodnight.”  
  
“Night.” It comes out as a whisper. But Lio leaves before Galo’s powerful, tender gaze could lock him into place any longer.

☆☆☆  
  
  
  
Galo comes over more than Lio would have liked.  
  
He started to ask more about Lio, claiming that if he doesn’t know anything about the other it would be impossible to like seeing someone so much, and yet here he is. Lio doesn’t specify anything about his life. In Galo’s eyes, he worked full time. He asked if he had any friends, or family. He doesn’t have family, at least, not anymore. Abandoning that chapter of his life before he even became a teenager.  
  
There isn’t much of him to reveal to Galo as the man somehow manages to chip and break at his walls piece by piece, but he is fascinated, and wanted to see who made up the person Lio is today. He wanted to know everything. Lio is just reluctant in giving that to him. He’s worked hard to _become _this person he is. An enigma that only his comrades know just bits and pieces of, but they could probably never connect the puzzle together. All they see is a vigilant leader who sought vengeance, who cared about the Burnish in a way most people wouldn’t.  
  
He helped people, just like Galo did. He helped the Burnish. Lio left that part out, though. It was during odd hours of the day, for long dreading hours. And it left him exhausted, he doesn’t have many hobbies. Not when he spent most of his time figuring out how he was going to live with his powers for the rest of his damn life. But he wanted to have a try at what humans… normally liked to do. He was human, but in a sense, civilians of Promepolis lived differently. Lived vicariously in the city without the constant fear that they could be taken away and locked up and experimented on, possibly killed without mercy.  
  
The leftover food suddenly finished faster, so Galo offered to go grocery shopping to stock up, and now Lio made food for two instead of one. Galo finds some kind of solace in this minimalistic home, somehow, and Lio doesn’t exactly know why. He asked about the suitcase, and Lio could say he’s only just moved in and didn’t feel like packing much.  
  
He doesn’t tell Galo he’s contemplating on leaving soon, he doesn’t know where. Maybe somewhere on the far edge of the city, secluded, where he can build another settlement in secret for all the sheltered Burnish to seek refuge. He could be closer to them, nearby. Lio doesn’t want to keep hiding forever though. His pride is shouting at him to let the world know who he is, and that they exist, much to how the majority wanted them all dead. His plan c was to rebuild society himself, and make himself known. But he isn’t there yet.   
  
That could put him and Galo at the opposite ends once again, and going from becoming a friend to a foe. Of course, Meis and Gueira were not pleased upon hearing about his new acquaintance.   
  
They tell him that he should leave, start packing and run as far away as possible. The fireman are just a step away from informing the authorities of what they’ve encountered right underneath their noses. But as long as Galo didn’t _know_ \-- Lio assured that there was nothing to worry about.  
  
But what he feels for Galo is conflicting with his thoughts, telling him that maybe Galo would understand. Lio expressed his lament for his kind and how in this world unless there’s change, there’s no place for the Burnish. Galo just thinks his sympathizing, when in reality, it’s far more than that. It’s beyond pity, it’s rage, for the government, for his powers, for these circumstances to be so cruel and unjust. Seeking justice is easier said than done.  
  
Galo wanted him to meet the team one night, where he joined Lio in sitting at the balcony in the apartment when dusk arrives, and Lio isn’t sure how to tell him. Galo has become an important part of his life and if Lio can’t fix that then he will lose the will to. He needed to escape.   
  
Maybe when he first met Galo any intention to eradicate what threatened his life would still be there at full force and he could’ve left much earlier. Leave without a trace left behind for someone to follow. But he’s dug himself a deep hole knowing that if he crawled inside Galo would definitely follow and find him eventually.  
  
“I don’t think they would want to meet me.” Lio told Galo, sensing his disappointment.   
  
“You would warm up to them.” The phrase Galo used sounded foreign. From a distance, he seems cold. But that’s nothing but the truth. He’s distant, but forever still burning. “I want you to meet them.”  
  
“I don’t think… we should continue this.” Lio clasped his hands together, and squeezed them tightly. “Galo. You are a good man. You are a hero. You do what’s best for this city.”  
  
“What are you goin’ on about, Lio? I mean, I appreciate the gesture, cause I know that I’m awesome. Duh.” Galo boasted with triumph.  
  
It made Lio chuckle at even now when he’s trying to be sincere all he got is something jesting.   
  
“You shouldn’t be caught up in my mess. It’ll only put you in danger too.”  
  
“For the past few weeks I’ve been spending time with you I’ve been thinkin’ the complete opposite.”  
  
“How should I put this.” Lio licked his lips, and he fidgeted with his hands. “...Those weren’t just regular accidents I’ve been causing. I figured by now you would suspect why they happen so often, in the same place.”  
  
“Like I said before, accidents happen all the time due to a shit ton of reasons.” Galo tried to defend his point, but Lio shifted on his crossed legs, and lifted a finger to place on Galo’s lips.  
  
“You wonder why my hands are always warm. It’s not because… it’s just how I am, there’s a reason for my body heat. Why I’ve been so prone to causing fires on accident, even when I try not to. I want you to look.” Lio held up a closed fist, then carefully open his palm.  
  
The purple flame that ignites brights up Galo’s marveling facial expression, and it’s still nothing of fear. Just laced with confusion, admiration, and shock. It even surprised Lio, because he’s gathering a sense of how to control his powers, and the flame has now sparked on his demand. It didn’t spiral out of control, grow bigger in size, never around Galo there was primal instinct to harm. It was the polar opposite.  
  
Galo swallowed, then gaped. “You’re a Burnish.”   
  
“I didn’t think I would have to tell you in order for you to realize. Did it require that much contemplation, or are you just that much of a fool?” Lio asked, deadpanning.  
  
Galo laughed sheepishly, “I might’ve been telling my team that it’s only been nothin’ but accidents. They were suspecting stuff. But I defended you, like, a lot. Sayin’ that this has nothin’ to do with you being a Burnish. I didn’t _want _to jump to conclusions and believe that.”  
  
“But you see it right now, don’t you?” Lio asked quietly.  
  
“Yeah…” Galo let out a breath, musing. “I do. I… I really do. It’s different, up close. Seeing a Burnish up close, and knowing one, and talking to one. I... I have so many questions." He shook his head.

"Man, no wonder why you're so warm." He started to poke Lio's nose, then touch his face. Lio leaned his head back and tried to push Galo's hand away.

"Galo, I'm being serious here." He insisted.

"That explains why the things I touch after you touch it give me near third-degree burns."

"It does."

"Can you toast food yourself? If I put a piece of bread in your hands, will it toast? Or like, just a single egg? Can you melt steel, metal, gold, diamonds?! Please tell me you've done some experimenting. If you can burn down houses, you definitely can burn so many things! Holy shit-- what if--"

"Take a breather." Lio advised. 

"...I really have a lot of questions." Galo laughed, it's short, and timorous.

“I'm sure you do, which I probably can't answer to everything. But that's not what I was expecting." Lio expected nonsense as a result. Anything related to Galo is usually nonsense.

"I'm just processing this all. We've... we've seen Burnish activity happen every now and then, but-- every time... it's always because they've done something bad. But you... it doesn't sound like you intend to bad things with your powers, you're... you're just trying to control it."

"So you understand."

"I'm trying, I just feel a lot of things."

"We’re everywhere, Galo Thymos. Even sitting right beside you. Right under your noses.” Lio kept the flame glowing, ablaze, and Galo scooted closer. Almost as if he would scare it, cautious.  
  
“It’s not scared of you. I learned that a while ago.” Lio assured.  
  
“But now I’m aware you could easily burn me alive… you know.”  
  
Lio was fully aware. “I won’t.” He played into Galo’s amusement. Just this once. “...Sometimes I talk to it. Because I think it’s almost like a person. It’s a part of me. It helps me… figure out a way to better control it, because I’ve been living with this my whole life.”  
  
“It don’t speak back, do it?”  
  
Lio laughed, and whenever he did laugh, it’s like he forgot the circumstances that he had to be put through on a daily basis. “No.” He said. “This is actually the first time it’s really listening to me.”  
  
“Whoa.”  
  
“I know.”  
  
But Galo is looking at him, and it made Lio feel more exposed. “Now I see why you didn’t want me to know the real you.”  
  
“No one really does. Except for my own kind.” Lio closed his palm with both hands, waiting for the flame to disappear. It does. He looked up at Galo. “You see, Galo, this is why… we can’t continue to see each other anymore like this. You have your team to worry about. And it is no longer safe for me to stay here now that you know my identity.”  
  
His icy blue irises are glowing in the moonlight, ethereal, and enamoring. Galo’s lifted his hand and pulled off his gloves. He started with his right, then his left.  
  
His hands were littered in burn scars. It made Lio’s heart ache, and his breath hitch. He touched them, and Galo let him. He knew that he wouldn’t hurt Galo by touching him, it won’t, either. So Lio does, feeling his larger hands in his palm, rugged, with the scars he keeps hidden under the guise of gloves. Then Lio concluded that there are parts that make him and Galo alike each other. Both having something to hide. Something they take pride in. Something to fight for.  
  
“I’ve got scars too. From a fire when I was a kid. Kray -- the governor, saved my life. But these scars stayed from the fire. Never faded away completely.” Galo reminisced, “It’s weird… how you can idolize someone and owe them your life, but the next day you realize that you’re not sure if you can trust ‘em anymore with how much someone can change, that’s what power can do to a person. But I thought about what you said. Not being able to trust a person, even a person you cared about. I’m going to talk to him soon. To be sure.”  
  
Lio wondered if Galo can feel his struggle that he kept buried beneath his walls, but they’ve crumbled.  
  
“It’s the truth.” Lio whispered. How much hatred he felt for Kray, he couldn’t express that to great lengths. Maybe he didn't have to.  
  
Galo’s fingers pull away from Lio’s hands, and instead, they reach for Lio’s hair to brush it out of his face. His soft strands of blonde, in the moonlight it shined a mesmerizing gold.  
  
“You’re beautiful.” Galo murmured, adoring, and Lio’s cheeks flush. “The power that you have, I don’t see that greed in you. What powers you have compliments you the way you are, being a Burnish is who you are, Lio. There’s something that you want, but it isn’t violence towards others. You want to save your people too. Just like how I want to save the people of this city.”  
  
“Galo-- I can’t be accepted for who I am.”  
  
“But I accept who you are. I knew that I was drawn to you for a reason, and I was thinking, shit, just what is it that makes me wanna keep seeing you. Something about you.” Galo huffed a laugh, and it’s breathy, deep, and something that Lio can familiarize with. His feelings burn stronger, a tenfold. “There is good that you can do with these powers.”  
  
“They’re for hurting others.”  
  
“But have you hurt me?”  
  
Lio doesn’t know what to say.   
  
“If you really think running away is going to solve your problems, it won’t. You have to stand and face them.”  
  
“I’m not sure if you’d like that idea.” Lio meant it, his voice coming out softer than he would have liked.  
  
“Maybe, maybe not. But no matter what you do, I… I know you’re not that kind of person.”  
  
“You can’t know for sure.”  
  
“But I just do, with you.”  
  
“It’s best if we pretend this conversation never happened. Write it off as an accident, and I disappear.” Lio pulled back from Galo’s touch, even if his body wanted it. He scooted back, trying to stand up. He could start packing tomorrow and disappear.  
  
“The Lio Fotia, you knew--” Lio kept going, despite the fact that Galo was coming closer, and closer, until his hands reached his waist, “Would only become a distant memory--” His voice became quieter, until his sentence is cut off completely by Galo’s lips connecting with his own.  
He stopped, and lowered back to the ground. Leaning into Galo’s touch, hands that could push him off are gripping his jacket for leverage, then they are trailing up to frame Galo’s cheeks in his palms. Melting into the kiss, Galo held him tightly. Pouring all of his passion into the gentle glide of their lips, and Lio returned it, and the incandescence of the kiss makes him sigh. Locking him into place.  
  
It’s when their bodies are pressed together they reach a peak of equilibrium, and the temperature cooled. If only a little, it found solace -- sharing body contact with another, and Lio thinks it’s something like finding home.  
  
When they part, it’s a little hard for them both to breathe. It’s hard for Lio to let go, so he remained in Galo’s arms, staring up into his eyes.  
  
“Thank you for accepting me.”  
  
“I already don’t care what you are, you’ll still be important to me. Just as everyone else I care about.”  
  
Stubborn. It made Lio smile, though grim. They pull away respectively, and Galo gave Lio some space. Some time to contemplate. To make his decision.  
  
“A lot could happen in a short amount of time.” Lio reassured, because he knew what Galo was thinking. “I might be dead. Or I won’t be the person that you expected me to be.”  
  
“And if it comes to that, with how everything is going… I’m fine with it.” Galo reasoned, “But I want to know if we will ever meet again, if tonight I can take you to your bed and you show me the Lio Fotia that I know now until the sun rises. If I could only kiss you, if I could hold you, anything. If I will see you again.”  
  
Maybe he would reach plan c by the time they do. Three steps fluidly falling into place. But Galo can’t tell, and Lio left it to his imagination what his next step would be. There’s still a shot at rebuilding this corrupt society, and he stared at his hands, knowing what he could manifest, and the type of power he could bring to restore the pride of the Burnish.  
  
“Someday, maybe you and I can fight together. Meet in the middle to restore humanity.” Lio stared ahead, basking in the final night that he will be here. “After tonight, we no longer know each other, and we may even be enemies.”  
  
After all, there is no telling of what could happen in their eventful future.   
  
“So then. If you’re gonna leave one of these days without tellin’ me anything,” And Lio’s heart aches, just a little, because Galo was going to accept Lio’s decision. “At least gimme a proper goodbye.”

**Author's Note:**

> Wanted to leave the ending open... for what happened post-canon to be a possible outcome as a result. But things would've happened way differently getting there lol. If these two were together post-canon while promare still existed the thought of Lio being a little reckless with his powers is still adorable.
> 
> You can find me on **[Tumblr](http://danganphobias.tumblr.com)** | **[Twitter](http://twitter.com/danganphobia)**
> 
> Thank you for reading. ❤


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